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Saturday, May 12, 2012

Meteorite Creates New 'Gold Rush' In California

Meteorite fragments were recently scattered around Sutter’s Mill in
California, the same region where the first nugget of gold was found
that sparked the Gold Rush in 1848. Scientists believe the meteorites
may hold answers to unsolved mysteries about our solar system and the
origins of molecules necessary for life. When the Gold Rush began,
people headed to California seeking their fortune. Now, with this
meteorite hunt, people once again have flocked to this area to search
for scientific treasures.

What scientists call the Sutter's Mill Meteorite landed at 7:51 a.m. PDT
on Sunday, April 22, 2012, outside of Lotus, Calif., in a horse pasture
located in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The de Haas family owns the
property.

"It sounded like a sonic boom but longer,” said Alan Ehrgott, who lives
in the Sutter Mill area. “It seemed to last 45 seconds. It stopped me in
my tracks."

The de Haas family has generously donated the meteorite to NASA.

Merv de Hass, who owns the land where the meteorite was found, donated
the fragment to NASA. "If I could contribute to science in some small
way, then that would be great,” said de Haas. “I'm looking forward to
the results."

Eugena de Haas lives on the land where the meteorite was found. She
informed NASA scientists that they were approved to search that land. "I
feel like I have done a service to my country," she said.

“The de Haas family has welcomed NASA’s involvement with open arms,”
said NASA Lunar Science Institute (NLSI) Director Yvonne Pendleton. “I
want to express my personal gratitude to them. They should be commended
for their contribution to scientific discovery."

This is a very rare type of meteor and scientists have precious few
samples of this kind of material. The meteorites are very interesting to
scientists from an astrobiology perspective, as they contain molecules
related to how the building blocks for life on Earth may have been
delivered from outer space. Scientist believe that this meteor could
hold the answers to the origin of life on Earth and the universe. By
studying the meteor, scientists also will learn more about the early
solar system and the formation of our planets.

“This is among the most chemically primitive meteorites,” said NLSI
Deputy Director Greg Schmidt. "It’s like asking ‘how did life on Earth
begin?’ and then having a fossil fall right in your back yard. This is
exciting stuff — who knows what’s inside? The Sutter’s Mill Meteorite
could be the most profound sample collected in over 40 years.”

People who work at NASA had an opportunity to participate in the meteor
hunt. Peter Jenniskens, a meteor astronomer with the SETI Institute
working in collaboration with NLSI, led the search. A group of NASA Ames
employees went to the mountains to assist in the search on Thursday,
May 3 and Friday, May 4, 2012.

"It’s heartwarming to see people coming together in the name of science,” said Pendelton.

For Jenniskens, finding this meteorite is equivalent to winning the
lottery. Because this discovery is a very rare carbonaceous chrondrite
that decomposes quickly in damp weather, the science team hopes to cover
a large amount of terrain to identify possible candidate pieces for
recovery before they decompose.

As Jenniskens finds the meteorites, he notes their exact location to better understand the meteor’s fall to Earth.

"I am grateful this meteorite was found quickly,” Jenniskens said. “We
need to recover as much material as possible from the damp environment
before weather affects the rocks too badly."

Since there was such a large piece of land to search in a short amount
of time, Airship Ventures' Zeppelin was called in to help conduct the
search. The airship provides an ideal search vehicle, due to its
ability to fly slowly and methodically over an area with a group of
trained observers aboard to relay possible candidate coordinates to a
ground team for investigation. The airship also carries a high
definition gyrostabilized camera, often used to help photograph sporting
events. In addition to the camera mounted on the airship, observers in
the ship used binoculars and cameras to help spot burn patches and
potential impact sites.

"I suspect this is the first time in history that anyone has searched for meteorites with an airship," said Schmidt.

So far, the fragment donated by the de Haas family was one of the
largest meteorites recovered, but the search for even bigger samples
will continue over the next few months. The search for more fragments
will continue for the next month. However, scientists will be studying
these meteorite samples for many years to come.